Mission Statement

As a not-for-profit foundation and the prospective proprietor we are creating the Humboldt Forum on one of the central sites of the Federal Republic. The building’s challenging contents plus the idea, both reconciliatory and forward-looking, of dedicating the heart of the capital city to the cultures of the world will give this site an international resonance.

Our values

QualityThe Foundation sets high-quality objectives for all its activities. By involving seasoned experts at an early stage it ensures that the architect’s plans and the politicians’ specifications are not just respected but faithfully executed.

SolidityThe Foundation’s team is staffed by experts with a great wealth of experience in their respective specialist fields. We work together in a spirit of partnership and to international standards of quality.

ExcellenceMembers of the Foundation’s Council and Board of Trustees with excellent social, cultural and political connections support our activities and aims with their active input and advice.

TrustAs a not-for-profit foundation we guarantee that our donors’ generosity reaches its intended target and that their financial support is utilised in keeping with our aims.

Our aim

We want the ideals of the brothers Wilhelm and Alexander Humboldt, after whom the Humboldt Forum is named, and their ideas of tolerance, enlightenment, education, open-mindedness and freedom of intellect to lead to an undistorted and inquiring view of the world.

As the Humboldt Forum, the historic site of the Berlin Palace will symbolise constant change, stimulating and inspiring society. The Forum will be a hub of movement, of encounter and of interaction with the cultures of the world.

The Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace will reflect and creatively neutralise the tension between past and future on this site, which is evident even through the contrast of the historic Baroque façades with the modernity within. The Humboldt Forum will be a cultural and, in the true sense, a political venue, but it will also be a place that contributes to living life sustainably.

Our method

We want to create an exciting centre for world culture. As the ‘world’s showcase for the world’, our aim is for the collections of the three partners (Stiftung Preußischer Kulurbesitz, the Kulturprojekte Berli together with the Stadtmuseum Berlin and the Humboldt-Universität zu Berin) to complement one another perfectly. They will be given the space there to develop together in new ways. The move from Dahlem and the new style of interaction with university and library within one building will also alter the collections. We want to take part actively and give our support to this process.

We want to inspire public enthusiasm for the project, which is supported by a broad political consensus. It is our firm belief that the only way to make it a project of the people is to get the wider community involved. The active involvement of members of the public will open up creative scope for them individually.

We want to reach people of all ages and groups of the population, and generate enthusiasm for the ideas of the Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace. The Forum will be an open, vibrant building, a place for young and old, for locals and visitors to the city. Everyone should feel that it’s for them. Everyone is welcome.